30 August 2009 4:17 PM

Ground control to Major Tom...

He's won the Guinness Premiership, lifted the Heineken Cup and nullified Richie McCaw in a man-of-the-match performance for his country, but Tom Rees has just been handed his greatest honour yet ― captaining one of the most successful rugby clubs in the world.

A product of the Wasps academy, the 24-year-old has only ever played rugby in black and gold, racking up 95 appearances for the club despite a frustrating run of injuries. When he's fit, it's easy to see why coach Tony Hanks describes him as 'one of the best players in his position, not just in the Premiership, but in Europe and on the world stage'.

Before Saturday's double header at Twickenham kicks off the new Premiership campaign, Tom Rees took time out from pre-season to talk leadership, ambition and bloodgate.

Tom, how does it feel to be the queen bee?

The captaincy is a huge honour. It's a funny thing because it's not something you can come in and strive for. Given the players who have held the position before, and the illustrious predecessors at the club, it's a very big deal for me.

It can't be bad having Serge Betsen and Phil Vickery as your vice-captains...

Tony Hanks has made it clear that leadership needs to grow throughout the club and I'm just spearheading that. There are three of us at the head of it, but there are other guys who have not necessarily been named or given official titles and they'll also have to shoulder responsibility. It will work well because we'll have Betsen's leadership experience as well as someone like me who has come through the club. There will be a group responsibility now to take the club forward.

There's been quite a change of personnel at Wasps this summer, how has the pre-season gone?

We're a club that don't normally have a particularly high turnover rate but there's been a lot of change. Plenty of guys have retired and a lot have come in, but there's a great work ethic among the guys who have come in and they already know everything we're about. The squad's definitely come together as a group but we'll have to wait for the rugby to start to see if we've really picked it up as a team.

You're the league's traditional slow starters, are you looking to put that right this season?

Given the changes at the club there's by no means an expectation that we'll be the finished article coming into the season. It will be a bit of a learning process once the games kick off. Guys who haven't had to shoulder responsibility in match situations will suddenly find that they're the ones responsible for picking the team up and making crucial decisions. So it's gonna be a tough one for us ― but the focus is certainly not going to be, 'Let's see what we can get out of the first few games'.

Wasps have escaped the onslaught of negative headlines this summer but what's your take on bloodgate?

It's an odd situation for us at Wasps because while there is a lot of stuff going on at the moment we're feeling really positive and really excited about the season coming up. It's not something that directly involves us and we certainly don't want to be preaching or having too much to say about it. Obviously we start against Harlequins in the double-header ― a team who finished above us last season and are made up of largely the same players ― and they will be a pretty strong outfit again regardless of everything else that's going on.

If Quins were to get thrown out of the Heineken Cup, Wasps would surely take their place...

I think the decision has been made that they're not and we've got no qualms about that. Obviously we're in the European shield on the basis of how we performed last year. And from our point of view that's what we deserve. If we were to get in by the back door it would be almost a slight to us. We would be somewhere that we hadn't earned the right to be. The shield has been restructured this year so I think it will be a lot more competitive that it's been even in previous years.

After missing out on a top-four finish last year is a play-off spot the priority for Wasps?

Our priority is a difficult one, and something that has to evolve. I'd say our ambition is to be hugely competitive in the European shield, it's going to be a big learning curve for a lot of our guys because we've got some tough away fixtures. But if domestic form is how we judge our season, and if we aspire to be the club we once were, then we need to be up there domestically competing for a play-off place and putting ourselves in with a chance of getting to the final.

How would it feel to line up against your old coach Ian McGeechan if he did join Harlequins?

It would be pretty odd. But the focus would simply be on doing a job for Wasps. But it's always strange coming up against one of your own.

And what about your personal ambitions, have you got an eye on the Autumn internationals?

My England career has been stop and start so far and if I did get selected it would simply be on the basis of what I do at Wasps, so my goals at Wasps will have a carry over to England. If I get a chance to get on the Twickenham pitch, I'll know that it was my work here that has earned me that place. I'd love to establish myself as an England regular.

You fancy getting stuck in to Richie McCaw again then?

You want to butt heads with the best in the game...

Figuratively speaking, of course, Tom.

Wasps face Harlequins at Twickenham on Saturday after Saracens take on London Irish. Tickets are still available for the London double-header.

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